Easiest Vegan Banana Bread

The easiest vegan banana bread! Made with just one bowl, this simple walnut and chocolate banana bread will surely become a family favourite.

photography by Sophie MacKenzie

A one-bowl vegan banana bread — that’s what makes it the easiest! Just mix and bake, no extra dishes or electric equipment needed. A vegan version of banana bread is a great recipe to try if you’re a novice baker, because the bananas add great hold and act as an egg replacer (no chia egg or flax egg needed).

This tastes pretty much spot on to any other banana bread recipe, however, we added a “touch” of healthy with olive oil and walnuts. They add a richness, texture, and mouthfeel that we really like.

So bake a loaf and have it for breakfast or keep it around for snacks. It’s soft, moist, and loaded with fresh banana flavour! We recommend trying it lightly toasted, topped with your favourite nut butter.

Use the JUMP TO RECIPE button at the top, or scroll to the bottom of the post to see the printable recipe card with full ingredient measurements and complete instructions.

Recommended Tools

• Standard loaf tin
• Parchment paper
• Mixing bowl
• Fork
• Rubber spatula or wooden spoon
• Measuring cups and spoon or digital kitchen scale
• Wire cooling rack

Ingredients

• Chocolate — We use dairy-free dark chocolate.
• Walnuts — You can buy whole walnuts and chop them yourself, or use pre-chopped walnuts.
• Bananas — You want medium-ripe bananas with black spots here. The more black spots, the more the banana flavour will shine through.
• Cinnamon — Recently opened cinnamon gives best flavour.
• Sugar — We use organic cane sugar in this recipe, however, you can use white sugar.
• Olive Oil — Any brand of extra virgin olive oil will work.
• Brown Sugar — Look for dark brown sugar or old-fashioned brown sugar.
• Flour — We used all-purpose flour for this recipe, but you can also use light spelt flour.
• Milk — Any plant-based milk you like or have on hand is fine.
• Vanilla — Vanilla extract or powder is fine. If you’re feeling fancy, scrape in the seeds of half a vanilla bean.

Keep scrolling to see clear and detailed process shots, as well as tips and notes to help you make Vegan Banana Bread perfectly the first time!

Method

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Tips and Notes

• If you hate chunks of banana in your banana bread, you can pulse the oil, sugars, milk, banana, and vanilla in a blender before adding to the bowl.
• If your pan is not one of the two standard sizes (9×5-inches (23×13-cm) or 8½x4½-inches (21×11-cm), the baking time may vary from what’s suggested in the recipe card. It’s a good idea to do a toothpick test in this case.
• Gently fold in the chocolate and nuts with a rubber spatula or wooden spoon to prevent over-mixing of the batter. If you’re unsure, mix the dry ingredients in a separate bowl and then add the chocolate before adding to the banana mix.

How To Store & Freeze Vegan Banana Bread

• To Store — Store the loaf, sliced or unsliced, in a large zipper-top bag with excess air squeezed out.
• To Freeze — Slice the loaf after it has cooled completely. Store the sliced in a large zipper-top bag in the freezer for up to one month. To thaw, you can defrost at room temperature, toast from frozen, or heat through gently in the microwave.

Substitutions

• We haven’t tested this, but we think you can probably make a gluten-free loaf by using a good quality GF flour blend. The bananas should hold everything together.
• If you don’t have walnuts, any other nuts or seeds are good — our top picks are hazelnuts and pecans.
• Any type of chocolate can be subbed for dark, so use what you have one hand but note that it might not be vegan. Take a look at the ingredients if you’re making the bread as a gift.
• Use chocolate chips instead of chopped chocolate if it’s what you have on hand.
• Other types of sugar can be used in place of cane sugar, like white or even coconut sugar but they will change the flavour a bit.
• We usually use oat milk, but any non-dairy milk is fine for this recipe.

FAQ

More Banana Recipes

Cinnamon Banana Waffles
Pumpkin Banana Muffins With Pumpkin Spice Streusel
Almond Flour Banana Muffins (gluten free)
Banana Breakfast Cookies with Dark Chocolate (vegan)
Chocolate Banana Babka (vegan)

If you make this recipe, let us know by tagging @baked_theblog + #bakedtheblog on Instagram! We love to feel like we’re in the kitchen with you.

Recipe

Easiest Vegan Banana Bread

4.8 from 11 votes

Author: Sophie Mackenzie

Yield: 12

Prep Time 5 mins

Cook Time 1 hr

Total Time 1 hr 5 mins

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Description

 

The easiest vegan banana bread! Made with just one bowl, this wholesome
walnut and chocolate banana bread will surely become a family favourite.

Equipment

• ▢
  Loaf pan
• ▢
  Parchment paper
• ▢
  Mixing bowl
• ▢
  Fork
• ▢
  Wooden spoon or spatula
• ▢
  Measuring cups and spoons or a digital kitchen scale

Ingredients

 

1x2x3x

US CustomaryMetric

• ▢ 3 medium ripe bananas
• ▢ ⅓ cup olive oil
• ▢ ⅓ cup natural cane sugar
• ▢ ⅓ cup brown sugar, lightly packed
• ▢ ¼ cup non-dairy milk
• ▢ 1 teaspoon vanilla
• ▢ 2 cups all-purpose (white) flour
• ▢ 1½ teaspoons cinnamon
• ▢ 1 teaspoon baking powder
• ▢ ½ teaspoon baking soda
• ▢ ½ teaspoon sea salt
• ▢ 1 cup raw walnuts, roughly chopped
• ▢ ½ cup dark chocolate, roughly chopped, or chocolate chips

Instructions

 

• Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C) and line a loaf pan with parchment paper. Set aside.
• In a large bowl, mash the bananas with a fork until very smooth. Add the olive oil, cane sugar, brown sugar, milk, and vanilla. Stir until well combined.
• Add the flour, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda, and salt into the bowl. Stir until just combined.
• Gently fold the walnuts and chocolate into the bowl, mixing until evenly distributed.
• Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan and bake for 60-70 minutes, or until the top springs back when lightly touched.
• Cool for 10 minutes in the pan before removing and cooling fully on a rack. This loaf keeps well in a sealed container for up to 3-4 days at room temperature, or up to a month in the freezer.

Notes

If you hate chunks of banana in your banana bread, you can mix the oil, sugars, milk, banana, and vanilla in a blender before adding to the bowl. That’s how the recipe was originally set up but we decided to do everything in a single bowl to streamline a bit more.

If your pan is longer and narrower than usual, the baking time might vary slightly from what’s suggested in the recipe card. Since this also depends on actual temperature of your oven, it’s a good idea to do a toothpick test in any case.

Gently fold in the chocolate and nuts with a spatula to prevent over-mixing of the batter. If you’re unsure, mix the dry ingredients in a separate bowl and then add the chocolate to that mixture before adding to the banana mix.

Nutrition

Serving: 1g | Calories: 324kcal | Carbohydrates: 42g | Protein: 6g | Fat: 16g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 12g | Cholesterol: 3mg | Sodium: 204mg | Fiber: 5g | Sugar: 21g

Did you make this recipe?Let us know on Instagram @baked_theblog or tag #bakedtheblog!

This post was originally shared in February 2018. It’s been updated with improvements to the recipe and text most recently as of September 2021.